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Oklahoma is the 47 th state admitted into the union on November 16, 1907, and also the 1 st most beautiful. Oklahoma has over 500 named streams and rivers that flow across the state and into or from other states. The beauty is most likely what inspired the musical Oklahoma! to be shot entirely in the state itself. Many lodges, resorts and parks have been erected around the lakes and reservoirs. Also, rodeos, horse shows, and other events draw visitors from within the state and from the states around it.
Along with the 52 parks and several museums that dot a path along oklahoma, the Sooner State is breathtaking. The flora of Oklahoma is many and varied. The plant life includes the savannahs, grasslands, forests, and plains. There are many mixed forest types and deciduous forests of hickory, oak, and pine. There are also just hardwood forests as well. The "cross-timber" forests of the state are so thick that the branches of the trees intertwine to make passing through impossible (hence the term "cross-timber").
Western areas are covered by short grasses and east red cedar. The Western part of the panhandle of the state has woodlands like that of the Rocky Mountains. Like much of the state, this area has been cultivated by cattle grazing. The varied land types of Oklahoma is due to its varied elevation, rainfall, and seasonal temperatures.
Mistletoe is the official state flower and the Redbud is the official state tree. The Fauna of Oklahoma is many, varied, and delicious. 2 Some of the most familiar animals native to Oklahoma are jackrabbits, cotton tails, coyotes, prairie dogs, mink, squirrels, raccoons, and the lovable skunks. The larger and not-so- familiar animals are pronghorn antelope, white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, red fox, gray fox, bobcats and beaver. Birds widely abound the state as well. Some that are native to Oklahoma are cardinals, English sparrows, swallows, robins, meadowlarks, mockingbirds, quail, wild turkey, prairie chicken, mourning doves and pheasants. Some of Oklahoma's tastiest animals are Longhorn and Angus cattle.
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is the official state bird. The climate is eclectic due to the varied land types and geography of Oklahoma. In fact, it is quite common to have such differing climates in the plain states. During mid-winter the southern part of the state may be in spring-like temperatures while the panhandle receives several inches of snow. About 4 / 5 outside the panhandle is humid subtropical. This area has long, hot summers and moderate short winters.
The western region and the panhandle are considered a "steppe" which gets around 10 to 20 inches of rain. Overall, the coldest month is January with temperatures at an average of 3 F and extremes of - 32 F to 97 F. The summers there are very hot compared to Georgia with temperatures in the low 100 F throughout September as an average. Unfortunately, Oklahoma is the land where the wind goes sweeping down the plains. Oklahoma is famous for its "tornado alley" which is the panhandle where dozens of tornadoes average annually. Droughts are fairly common as well.
One of the more well- known droughts is the Dust Bowl of the 1930 's. Oklahoma is divided into 77 counties total which are governed by a board of commissioners that are elected every 2 years. Each school district is governed by the school board having anywhere from 3 to 7 members. Oklahoma elects 2 senators and 6 representatives which gives them 8 electoral 3 The people of Oklahoma are what make it truly unique.
Around 8. 2 % of the state is Native American. The only Native American to become a general in the American Civil War was from Oklahoma. Oklahoma City is the largest city in Oklahoma with over 444, 917 residents as of 1990. The population of Native Americans is less because of the white settlers moving entire tribes which included thousands of men, women, and children of all ages across several hundred miles out of their homeland. In this process, several generations of the tribes died on the way, young and old. This awful event in the history of Oklahoma was called The Trail of Tears because of all of the deaths.
Just as much as the rest of the country in the past, segregation was huge and extreme. There were even entire towns for just either blacks or whites and no one from a different race could enter. In Greenwood, Oklahoma a white mob entered the "black Wall-Street" and burned the whole town, homes and all. Hundreds were killed and only a few were not black.
This is similar to what happened in Rosewood, Florida. Thankfully, things are much different now. The culturally diverse Oklahoma is proud of its Native American heritage and excepts all races equally. Many Southern Baptist churches dominate Oklahoma making it about 97 % Baptist. Along with Baptists come strong morals and ethics.
Oklahoma requires a citizen to be in school from age 5 to age 18 which is the largest education commitment in the U. S. Unfortunately, this did not stop a terrorist from attacking the federal building in downtown Oklahoma City (the capital and largest city) in the middle of the work day. A bomb planted below the building destroyed most of the building and killed several people, young and old. Eventually Oklahoma recovered.
This just shows the ability of the "Okies" to come together. Its motto pretty much sums it all up in one phrase: "Labor conquers all. " Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Native American Oklahoma City
